The Legend of Korra season 4 explained

Season Number:4
Book Four: Balance
Bgcolour:
  1. 345C46
Num Episodes:13
Network:Nick.com
Prev Season:Book Three: Change

Book Four: Balance is the fourth and final season of the animated television series The Legend of Korra by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It consists of thirteen episodes ("chapters"), all animated by Studio Mir. The episodes were made available on the Nickelodeon website and other online outlets each Friday beginning on October 3, 2014 and premiered on Nicktoons on November 28, 2014. Critical reception of Book Four, as of the series in general, was positive.

Book Four is set three years after the previous season. It deals with Avatar Korra's journey of self-discovery following the trauma she suffered in Book Three, and with the security officer Kuvira's campaign to unite the Earth Kingdom under her authoritarian leadership.[1]

The season is followed by the graphic novel trilogy Turf Wars, that picks up immediately after the series finale.

Production

After Nickelodeon cut the budget for season 4 by about the amount required for one episode, DiMartino and Konietzko decided to include a clip show episode, which reuses previously produced animation, instead of letting many of the creative staff go. Inspired by Samurai Champloos clip show episode "The Disorder Diaries", they chose to frame a series of edited clips from the previous seasons of The Legend of Korra with about five minutes of new animation. Aired as episode 8, "Remembrances", the clip show was also intended as "a lighthearted romp" similar to Avatar: The Last Airbenders episode "The Ember Island Players" before the series enters its dénouement.[2]

Reception

The season was generally well-received by critics. Critics generally enjoyed the main villain Kuvira and thought she complemented Korra well.[3] IGN's Max Nicholson felt the overarching plot of Kuvira's military campaign was not as ambitious as previous seasons', though he still enjoyed it. Nicholson also praised the season for its handling of themes like war, dictatorship, weapons of mass destruction and post-traumatic stress disorder.[3]

"Korra Alone" was praised by critics as one of best episodes of the entire series,[4] [5] [6] described by Nicholson as "masterful and heart-wrenching."[3] "Day of the Colossus" received positive reviews for its action sequences,[7] described by ScreenCrushs Matt Patches as "22-minutes of set-piece wizardry, featuring some of the most imaginative, heart-pounding action I've ever seen."[8] In contrast, the clip show "Remembrances" was singled out as a weak point in the season.[3] [9] [10]

In the final scene of the season and the series, Korra and Asami face each other holding hands. This scene recalls the earlier wedding scene between Zhu Li and Varrick, as well as the last shot of , in which Aang and Katara kiss. It was subject to discussion outside of entertainment media, notably after the series' creators confirmed that the scene was meant to signify Korra and Asami becoming a romantic couple.[11] According to Joanna Robinson for Vanity Fair, who described the series finale as "the most subversive television event of the year", it "changed the face of TV" by going further than any other work of children's television in depicting same-sex relationships[12] – an assessment shared by reviewers for TV.com,[13] The A.V. Club,[14] USA Today,[15] IGN,[16] Moviepilot[17] and The Advocate.[18] Megan Farokhmanesh of Polygon wrote that by portraying Korra and Asami as bisexual, the series even avoided the error of assuming sexual orientation, as many other TV series did, to be a strict divide between "gay" and "straight".[19] In 2018, io9 ranked the final scene #55 on its list of "The 100 Most Important Pop Culture Moments of the Last 10 Years".[20]

Like the third season, the final season received a 100% rating from 9 reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 9/10.[21]

Episodes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: THE LEGEND OF KORRA EXCLUSIVE CLIP: WATCH THE OPENING SEQUENCE FROM BOOK FOUR. Goldman. Eric. 29 September 2014. IGN. 29 September 2014. April 21, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230421165607/https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/29/the-legend-of-korra-exclusive-clip-watch-the-opening-sequence-from-book-four. live.
  2. News: Konietzko. Bryan. A few preemptive words about Episode 408, "Remembrances".... 21 November 2014. 20 November 2014. November 24, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141124171155/http://bryankonietzko.tumblr.com/post/103173899927/a-few-preemptive-words-about-episode-408. live.
  3. Web site: THE LEGEND OF KORRA: BOOK FOUR REVIEW. IGN. Max. Nicholson. December 23, 2014. August 12, 2018. August 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180812093213/http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/24/the-legend-of-korra-book-four-balance-review. live.
  4. Web site: THE LEGEND OF KORRA: "KORRA ALONE" REVIEW. October 10, 2014. IGN. Max. Nicholson. August 12, 2018. January 17, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150117221343/http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/10/the-legend-of-korra-korra-alone-review. live.
  5. Web site: Legend of Korra: Korra Finds Herself, But They Don't Get Along. The Escapist. October 12, 2014. Mike. Hoffman. August 12, 2018. August 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180812151304/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/12421-Legend-of-Korra-Review-Korra-Alone. live.
  6. Web site: The Legend Of Korra season 4 episode 2 review: Korra Alone. Den of Geek. October 13, 2014. Kaci. Ferrell. August 12, 2018. August 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180812152309/http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-legend-of-korra/32465/the-legend-of-korra-season-4-episode-2-review-korra-alone. live.
  7. Web site: The Legend of Korra 4×12 and 4×13 Review: 'Day of the Colossus' and 'The Last Stand'. The Geekiary. Farid-ul-Haq. 20 December 2014. August 12, 2018. August 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180812151532/http://thegeekiary.com/the-legend-of-korra-4x12-and-4x13-review-day-of-the-colossus-and-the-last-stand/19977. live.
  8. Web site: 'THE LEGEND OF KORRA' FINALE REVIEW: "DAY OF THE COLOSSUS / THE LAST STAND". ScreenCrush. December 19, 2014. Matt. Patches. August 12, 2018. August 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180812151817/http://screencrush.com/the-legend-of-korra-finale-review-day-of-the-colossus-the-last-stand/. live.
  9. Web site: The Legend Of Korra: "Remembrances". The A.V. Club. Oliver. Sava. November 21, 2014. August 12, 2018. August 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180830040220/https://tv.avclub.com/the-legend-of-korra-remembrances-1798182021. live.
  10. Web site: The Legend of Korra: Remembrances Review. November 21, 2014. Den of Geek. Michael S.. Mammano. August 12, 2018. August 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180812151812/http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/the-legend-of-korra/241538/the-legend-of-korra-remembrances-review. live.
  11. News: Holpuch. Amanda. Legend Of Korra creators confirm show's same-sex relationship. 28 December 2014. The Guardian. 23 December 2014. December 29, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141229161400/http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/dec/23/legend-of-korra-same-sex-relationship. live.
  12. News: Robinson. Joanna. How a Nickelodeon Cartoon Became One of the Most Powerful, Subversive Shows of 2014. 19 December 2014. Vanity Fair. 19 December 2014. October 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181009003816/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/12/korra-series-finale-recap-gay-asami. live.
  13. News: Kirkpatrick. Noel. The Legend of Korra Series Finale Review: New Beginnings. 20 December 2014. TV.com. 19 December 2014. December 20, 2014. https://archive.today/20141220070546/http://www.tv.com/shows/avatar-the-legend-of-korra/community/post/the-legend-of-korra-series-finale-book-4-episode-12-episode-13-day-of-the-colossus-the-last-stand-141886896821/. live.
  14. News: Sava. Oliver. The Legend Of Korra: "Day Of The Colossus"/"The Last Stand". 20 December 2014. The A.V. Club. 19 December 2014. December 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222005728/http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/legend-korra-day-colossus-last-stand-213266. live.
  15. News: Hoai-Tran. Bui. Let's talk about that 'Legend of Korra' ending.... 23 December 2014. USA Today. 22 December 2014. December 23, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141223131819/http://entertainthis.usatoday.com/2014/12/22/legend-of-korra-series-finale-nickelodeon-lgbt-couple/. live.
  16. News: IGN Staff. THE LEGEND OF KORRA: IGN EDITORS REACT TO THE ENDING AND KORRASAMI. 25 December 2014. IGN. 24 December 2014. December 25, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141225025615/http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/24/the-legend-of-korra-ign-editors-react-to-the-ending-and-korrasami. live.
  17. News: Dauvin. Angela. Legend of Korra: Living Up to the ATLA Legacy. 20 December 2014. Moviepilot. 19 December 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141221004050/http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/12/19/legend-of-korra-living-up-to-the-atla-legacy-2528364?lt_source=external,manual. 21 December 2014.
  18. Web site: 35 LGBT Characters Who Redefined Family TV. The Advocate. Jacob. Ogles. February 2, 2017. January 30, 2018. January 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180130075127/https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2017/2/02/35-lgbt-characters-who-redefined-family-tv#slide-1. live.
  19. News: Farokhmanesh. Megan. The Legend of Korra achieved more in under a minute than most shows do in their lifetime. 23 December 2014. Polygon. 23 December 2014. December 23, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141223230315/http://www.polygon.com/2014/12/23/7439921/the-legend-of-korra-series-finale-asami-couple. live.
  20. Web site: The 100 Most Important Pop Culture Moments of the Last 10 Years: #41-60. io9. January 17, 2018. io9 Staff. January 30, 2018. January 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180130204453/https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-100-most-important-pop-culture-moments-of-the-last-1822145186. live.
  21. Web site: The Legend of Korra: Season 4. May 17, 2021. March 7, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210307061017/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-legend-of-korra/s04. live.

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